Ways to respond to traumatic events.

• Position: Mass Shootings

People are concerned--apparently with good reason considering recent events--that a traumatic event could happen without warning at work, school, or a public place. The spate of seemingly everyday shootings has taken away a general sense of security.

"Our best emotional defense is to know how to help ourselves and others when tragedy strikes. I have seen the results of untreated trauma," says Nancy K. Penrod, founder and director of The Counseling Team International, San Bernardino, Calif. She has been dispatched to many critical incidents, including the San Bernardino terrorist attack on Dec. 2, 2015, to provide mental health services to first responders and citizens. "Left untreated, emotional trauma can surface as symptoms of posttraumatic stress, including anxiety and depression." Here are tips to remember following a crisis, advises Penrod:

* Realize that your behavior is a typical reaction to an extraordinary occurrence. You are not "flipping out" or "acting weird."

* Breathe deeply to calm yourself. Inhale through your nose and exhale as slowly as you can. Shallow breathing keeps one in an anxious state.

* Reach out for spiritual guidance.

* Avoid self-medication with drugs or alcohol.

* Do not withdraw. Seek connection with...